The laughable ‘Speed Camera’ in Sopwith Way

This is Battersea Power Station and Rendall & Rittner’s ”solution” to speeding on Sopwith Way.

Laughable ‘speed camera’ on Sopwith Way from Rendall & Rittner and Battersea Power Station Development Company at Chelsea Bridge Wharf

One small screen, facing one direction, almost entirely obscured by parked vehicles. It cannot possibly function in this position and even if it could the drivers cannot see the screen telling them what their speed is. More importantly the ‘speed camera’ is not monitored and not enforced. There is no penalty for ignoring it.

As well as the nuisance to residents and the road safety issues there is a fire safety risk in this matter. Sopwith Way was designed to be the emergency access route into Chelsea Bridge Wharf and there is no other way to get fire engines in. If there was an accident on Sopwith Way (god forbid) and if vehicles blocked the road as a result, they would have to be removed before any emergency vehicles could get through (this particularly applies to fire engines).

I don’t know if the local fire service are happy with the current arrangements but I will be checking with them. Sopwith Way is supposed to be small service road, for emergency and maintenance vehicles, but is it now being used for something for which it was not designed – high volumes of general traffic often travelling at speeds of 50mph and on average probably about 25-30 mph.

I also note that Berkeley Homes have changed the speed limit on the part of Sopwith Way that joins Queenstown Road from 5mph to 20mph so that is unlikely to be helpful in controlling speed on the main part of Sopwith Way. As ever, no consultation from Rendall & Rittner and no information to residents.